2020 Abingdon-Havre De Grace Tornado
The '''2020 Abingdon-Havre De Grace Tornado '''was an extremely powerful and catastrophic EF5 wedge tornado that struck 4 towns in Harford County, Maryland on April 16, 2020. The massive tornado killed 77 people and injured 232 others along its 13 mile path, and left behind catastrophic damage. The worst of the damage was in Aberdeen, as the town was essentially leveled. It is the deadliest, strongest, largest, and costliest tornado in Maryland history, and the second deadliest on the East Coast, only behind the 1953 Worcester Tornado. A state of emergency was declared in Maryland the next day, and later, a disaster declaration was issued for Harford County. The Tornado The tornado was spawned from a storm that had produced a weak tornado in Baltimore County a bit earlier. It touched down in a wooded area near the town of Abingdon at 4:47PM. The tornado was initially weak, producing EF0-EF1 damage to trees. It was also somewhat small, only 300-400 yards wide. At 4:49PM, the tornado dramatically intensified into a violent EF4 tornado as it demolished a church. The tornado reached High End-EF4 intensity as it crossed Abingdon Road into a neighborhood of Abingdon. Many homes in this area were destroyed or severely damaged. Then, the tornado intensified into an extremely violent EF5 tornado. 4 well built homes were swept away completely, with anchor bolts remaining. Around these homes, trees were uprooted and debarked, and the ground and pavement were severely scoured. The tornado then weakened into a Mid End-EF4 tornado as it continued through the neighborhood. It eventually exited and weakened into an EF3 tornado. In Abingdon, 12 people were killed and 43 others were hurt, some critically. The tornado, now an EF3 continued its track directly on Route 7. Many cars on this road were thrown and mangled, killing and injuring several occupants. The tornado struck a small bar at EF3 intensity, destroying it. The tornado continued down Route 7, throwing cars, uprooting trees, and downing power lines. As the tornado approached the town of Belcamp, it began to widen, and quickly re-intensified into an EF4 tornado as it struck the north side of Belcamp. Numerous homes and businesses were severely damaged or destroyed as it passed through. The tornado then briefly re-intensified into an EF5 tornado, as 2 well built homes were swept away completely, with little to no debris left behind and anchor bolts remaining. Nearby trees were uprooted and debarked, and ground scoring took place. The tornado then weakened into an EF4 tornado as it passed over Route 543 and struck a shopping center, leveling much of it. The tornado continued through Belcamp as an EF4, striking more homes and an industrial center, where several buildings were leveled. It then exited Belcamp, and continued Northeast towards Aberdeen. 19 people in the Belcamp area were killed, either from being caught outside in the storm, in their cars, or in the shopping center and their homes. At least 71 others were hurt, some critically. As the tornado continued Northeast, It continued widening, and was now over a mile wide. The tornado, by this point, had weakened into an EF2. Many homes in the tornadoes path were damaged or destroyed. At 5:04PM, the National Weather Service in Sterling, Virginia, issued a Tornado Emergency for Aberdeen and Havre De Grace, as a confirmed large and extremely dangerous and destructive tornado was on the ground. The National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey, extended the tornado emergency into Cecil County, Maryland, and New Castle County, Delaware. The tornado continued to widen as it barreled towards Aberdeen. It re-intensified into an EF3 as it demolished more homes and downed trees. It then became an EF4 tornado as the ground was severely scoured, and a well built home was demolished. The tornado, at this point, had widened to almost 2 miles wide, but had weakened into an EF2 tornado. But, re-intensification occurred once more, and it became an EF4 tornado. The tornado destroyed more homes and downed power lines before before it re-intensified to an EF5 and struck Aberdeen at peak intensity, as a 1.71 mile wide tornado. The tornado left catastrophic damage in Aberdeen. Throughout its entire time in the city, it maintained EF5 intensity. Tons of well built homes and businesses were swept away completely, with anchor bolts remaining. The pavement and ground were heavily scoured, trees were completely debarked, uprooted, and thrown, and cars were mangled beyond recognition and hurled some of the furthest distances ever recorded. Nearby train tracks were ripped from the ground, mangled, and tossed. The remains of these tracks were unable to be located. Several schools, the Aberdeen Police Department, a Walmart, and the post office were completely destroyed. The tornado, while in downtown Aberdeen, began to shrink in size, but still remained a violent EF5. After producing catastrophic damage in Aberdeen, the tornado exited the city and weakened into an EF4 tornado, leveling 2 large warehouses. In and around Aberdeen, at least 45 people were killed, and 116 others were hurt, many critically. The tornado continued Northeast towards Havre De Grace, the second largest city in Harford County. At this point the tornado had weakened into an EF3 tornado, and had shrunk in size to less than 1500 yards wide. Several storm chasers witnessed the tornado as it made its way towards Havre De Grace on Route 40. Luckily, many cars were off the road at this point, and no other cars were thrown. As the now EF3 tornado traversed down Route 40, numerous homes and businesses on the side were damaged or destroyed. The tornado briefly weakened into an EF2, but quickly restrengthened into an EF3 as it struck Havre De Grace. Damage in Havre De Grave was severe. At the southern edge of town, multiple homes and businesses were severely damaged and destroyed. One home was partially swept away, however this home was poorly built and was not well anchored. Further into the city, the tornado weakened into an EF2 as more homes and businesses were damaged. Other than homes and businesses, trees were uprooted, power poles were brought down, and cars were moved. The tornado, at this point, had also shrunken to less than 650 yards wide. The tornado then made an unusual turn to the north, similar to that of the Bridge Creek-Moore F5 from 1999. It weakened into an EF1, downing several trees and damaging homes and businesses, before it weakened into an EF0 and dissipated in the town, near the Susquehanna River, at 5:12PM. In Havre De Grace, 1 man was killed from a falling tree, and 2 others were hurt, neither of them critically. Out of the 4 towns this tornado hit, Havre De Grace suffered the least damage. Casualties and Damage In total, 77 people were killed, and 232 others were hurt, many critically. The deaths and injuries were caused by cars being thrown, homes/businesses being destroyed, flying debris, and trees and powerlines being brought down. The tornado is the deadliest tornado in Maryland history, surpassing the November 1926 La Plata tornado, which killed 17 people. Most of the injured were transported to Upper Chesapeake Hospital in Bel Air and the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. Damage wise, $2.7 Billion Dollars in damages was behind. A total of 1,292 homes and businesses were destroyed, and 789 homes and businesses were damaged. Category:Tornadoes